May 19, 2011

Could Enes Kanter slip to the Pistons at No. 8?

If you’re still disappointed about the Pistons falling to No. 8, Jonathan Givony of Draft Express has some good news.His mock draft for Yahoo! Sportshas Detroit taking Enes Kanter:

This is likely the furthest Kanter would slide, due to a combination of not playing competitively the past two years and not working out for anyone outside of one-on-zeros. While not particularly athletic, Kanter’s strong frame and solid skills should fit in well into Pistons’ frontcourt.

As Patrick noted, Givony isn’t the biggest Kanter fan. Honestly, I’m not, either. His year off should raise a huge red flag – not because his basketball skills eroded or didn’t develop enough or anything like that. But what does it say about him that he allowed himself to miss a whole year? How does he let that happen? Did he make one poor decision, or is he a poor decision maker? Before a team drafts Kanter, it should explore those questions.

Still, with any pick after the first two in this draft, teams will have to choose players with fairly major flaws. At No. 8, I’d happily take Kanter and his flaws. It’s not like there are any sure-thing alternatives.

But I’m afraid Chad Ford of ESPN has a more likely outcome for the Pistons. He has Kanter off the board at No. 4 and the Pistons taking Tristan Thompson (although, doing so over Bismack Biyombo):

Last week we had Bismack Biyombo here, but a number of GMs consider him a risky pick this high. The Pistons could still go in Biyombo’s direction, but they may not need to if they fall in love with Thompson.

Thompson isn’t quite as long and bouncy as Biyombo (few players are) but is more of a proven commodity; Thompson is a terrific offensive rebounder in his own right and a much better scorer right now. Like Biyombo, he would be a perfect complement to Greg Monroe on the Pistons’ front line.